


Arms Unfolding

by fictyun



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Break Up, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, party party yea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:54:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29752293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictyun/pseuds/fictyun
Summary: yeonjun and soobin are locked inside a closet for 7 minutes as a result of losing a dare. unbeknownst to their peers, the two had previously ended their relationship on shaky terms.---song writespo: arms unfolding by dodie clark
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 12
Kudos: 90





	Arms Unfolding

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello im back with angst :') this particular one is a favorite of mine as it tackles a topic about love that i don't think is talked about much. to make things short, i wanted a way to express the ugly sides of love— or at least, a part that most people don't like talking about.
> 
> i hope you enjoy reading this as much as i did writing it.
> 
> p.s. this version includes an entire section that i didn't post in the twitter version :')
> 
> \---
> 
> written: 20/10/16

it's dark in the closet, yeonjun thinks to himself as he sits down on one corner. despite it being a walk-in closet, he couldn't help but feel a bit claustrophobic. he lets out a shaky huff, the alcohol he took earlier prompting a dull migraine to form.

"are you alright?"

yeonjun lifts his gaze towards soobin. despite the darkness, he notices the concern etched on the latter's features through the small slits of light that peek through the crevices.

"you look pale." soobin continues.

he leans over to hold a palm on yeonjun's forehead but stops when yeonjun draws away from him.

" 'm fine," yeonjun says numbly, waving a dismissive hand. "just a headache."

"we could ask them to let us out if you're uncomf—"

"—i said i'm fine." yeonjun interrupts coldly.

soobin's eyes widen at that and stills. the small space fills with tension as he sinks back to his corner.

"shit," yeonjun mutters. he presses the heel of his palms in between his eyes. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean— i didn't mean to raise my voice."

"it's fine," soobin supplies quietly, "i shouldn't have crowded over you."

yeonjun chuckles mirthlessly, letting his head fall back against the wall.

"you don't have to apologize." he mumbles. "i know you didn't mean it."

soobin lifts his head and meets with yeonjun's gaze. something in yeonjun's tone left a different weight to his earlier statement. he averts his gaze and instead focuses on yeonjun's features, noticing the way the latter's shoulders seem to be tensed.

"how long should we be here?" yeonjun asks, pulling his knees to his chest and rests his head on his knees.

"for a while. we're here for 7 minutes."

soobin hears yeonjun scoff.

"what are we supposed to do?" yeonjun asks, voice muffled.

"anything," soobin supplies after a thought. "we could talk."

that seems to catch yeonjun's attention as he lifts his head, resting his chin on his knees.

"what d'you wanna talk about?" yeonjun asks in an even tone. soobin stills.

there's only one thought in his mind but he isn't sure if the other would be okay with that conversation. soobin looks back at yeonjun and it seems as though yeonjun's thinking the same thing, but he isn't certain.

the room fills with blurry silence once again. the indistinct chattering outside serving as a buffer from the impending awkwardness.

"guess i'll just slee—"

"—how have you been?"

the two pause in momentary shock.

it's silent. this time the indistinct chatter does nothing to stave off awkward tension. soobin searches yeonjun's eyes through the tousled strands of hair hanging over his face.

he's met with an unreadable expression. it seems as though the silence will drag on but yeonjun speaks up.

"what?"

soobin clears his throat, his hands suddenly feeling clammy.

"how are you," he tries again, voice clearer this time. "like, how have you been?"

through the curtain of the latter's bangs, soobin catches a quick flash of emotion behind yeonjun's eyes.

"what do you mean—"

"nevermind, i was just being stupid—" soobin rushes, regret quickly bubbling up in his tummy.

"—oh." yeonjun says suddenly. "you mean after our breakup."

soobin winces.

he shuts his eyes and turns away, hoping that the ground would swallow him alive or that the 7 minutes would hurry up and finish. he hears yeonjun smile in false amusement with the way his breath hitches slightly.

"i don't know," yeonjun starts, picking up from the conversation earlier. "do you want an honest answer?"

soobin feels yeonjun's gaze at the back of his head. slowly, he musters up enough bravery to meet with yeonjun's eyes.

"okay..." soobin responds, although his voice trails off once he sees the expression on the latter's face.

the pain behind yeonjun's eyes is enough of an answer. it strikes deeply at soobin's chest.

he's seen that face before. he's seen that look of hurt and confusion drawn and mixed in a ball of vulnerability. soobin's seen that face before, all those nights ago when he said goodbye for the last time.

he didn't need yeonjun's answer to know how he's been. yeonjun's emotions spoke for himself, similarly on the night of their break up. the memory of it is distant now, but judging on their current circumstance it seems like the pain stood its ground.

soobin sees yeonjun's bottom lip quiver and he immediately knows that his memories from that night are flooding in. his first instinct is to move closer and pull yeonjun in a hug but he thinks against it.

_no_ , soobin thinks, _you can't hurt him anymore._

"you know," yeonjun starts softly, words stilted through tears, "i was prepared to see you leave.”

soobin listens quietly. the regret in his chest turns to guilt as he sees a tear fall down yeonjun's cheek.

yeonjun continues, wiping away the drop of tear. "but it still hurt."

soobin takes a deep breath as he feels a stinging sensation in his chest. it slowly inched up his throat as though it was a vine of thorns choking him.

"and no matter how hard i tried," yeonjun continued, "i couldn't escape the thought of you."

a pause followed by a shaky intake of breath.

“for the longest time, i wondered to myself _which part of me wasn't enough?_ ”

“yeonjun—”

a bubble of deprecating laughter escapes yeonjun’s lips just as another wave of tears flows down his cheeks.

“was there something i did wrong? had i not loved you enough?”

“your love was always enough, yeonjun.” soobin cuts, eyes bleary and lip quivering. “you were always enough for me.”

“then why?” yeonjun asks, his voice trailing off towards the end.

it's two words that were uttered so softly, yet spoke about everything yeonjun felt on that night. yeonjun pauses for a while as a sob escapes his mouth. soobin goes to move closer to him but he's stopped by the older boy.

"no, please." yeonjun pleads, his body pressed against the wall.

those two words cut deeper than anything soobin felt.

those also happened to be the last words yeonjun said to him before he left. soobin never knew how much pain they'd both feel, realizing how yeonjun's words mirrored each other.

while both were filled with refusal, the previous one was uttered as a desperate plea; begging for soobin to stay. now, it's spoken with silent surrender; asking soobin to stay away.

and so, soobin kept his distance, allowing yeonjun to compose himself.

"i'm sorry." is all soobin can offer as he starts to feel tears fall down his face. "i'm so sorry."

"it's okay," yeonjun reassures. "i understand now why you had to leave."

soobin shakes his head, the guilt eating him up.

"it still hurts, but i'm learning to let go." yeonjun continues. "i just wish time had a better plan for us, you know?"

soobin closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the wall. the tears fall freely now, each drop accompanied by a fragment of memory from that night.

he grew up with people telling him how beautiful it was to fall hopelessly in love with someone; how it was such a remarkable feeling that left you chasing for more. that was yeonjun for him.

yeonjun had once told soobin that he'd found forever in him and soobin fell so hard, finding beauty in everything about the other.

however, nobody told him about the part where you slowly fell out of love. how the flame that was once ignited in his chest slowly dwindled to a small spark; slowly but surely fading until there was none left.

yes, falling in love was beautiful. however, falling out of love was the most exquisite form of destruction.

soobin learned that the night he left yeonjun.

it's silent again, the indistinct chattering outside once again breaking through their little bubble. the two have sobered up from their emotions. there's still a light blanket of unresolved tension but their minds are clearer now that they've poured out their thoughts.

neither soobin nor yeonjun knew how long they've been inside the walk-in closet, but they don't seem to mind now.

"i'm sorry for breaking down earlier." yeonjun whispers, eyes red from the tears. "should've known the alcohol would make me emotional."

yeonjun laughs awkwardly as he lets out a sniffle from his runny nose. soobin smiles at the sight, his gaze fond. he's only ever looked at yeonjun fondly.

"i guess the same could be said for me." soobin replies, a small smile spreading on his face.

the space falls silent again, this time it's a bit more comfortable. the two maintain their distance on either side of the closet, but they share a look of fondness in between them.

maybe yeonjun was right.

maybe they did find forever in each other— only at the wrong time. hopefully, someday, they'd find each other again; when they were older and wiser.

soobin's thoughts are interrupted as the closet doors are yanked open, signifying the end of seven minutes.

“you alright yeonjun?” a friend asks with a concerned smile. “you two look like hell.”

“yea,” yeonjun reassures, wiping away a leftover tear. “i’m doing better now.”

he turns to soobin and offers a faint smile. their friend then turns to soobin who simply nods, not meeting anyone in the eye.

“if you say so.”

as the two walk back to the party, soobin reaches out to yeonjun. 

"yeonjun?"

the older boy looks back at soobin with a renewed disposition, his gaze no longer neurotic. instead, there was peace and closure.

"hmm?"

"i hope you never forget that in between hello and goodbye, there was love. so much of it."

yeonjun smiles and nods. "i know."

soobin smiles back. one day, time will bring them together again.


End file.
